Real Life ~ Real Women ~ Real Truth

Worship With Individual Gifts

There was a time in the early days of the church that needs were not being met for a certain group of widows. The leaders needed to act, and Acts 6:3-5 tells us the solution they arrived at: “…seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.”

There were needs out there to be met. People were hungry. There were widows that didn’t have the care of a husband anymore. The disciples chose men from among them that were full of wisdom and the Spirit and gave them the honor and responsibility to care for these precious women. What did the other disciples do? The ones that were not given that responsibility? They gave their attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word. Again, as we talked about in yesterdays devotional, people doing different things but doing them as acts of worship to God.

There are the same needs today. People are hungry. Widows need to be cared for. Attention to prayer and ministry of the Word is still a necessity.

Worship, according to dictionary.com means “adoring reverence.” Can we adore God while providing a practical need just as well as if we are praying and in the Scripture? We were all given different gifts, different spiritual tools with which to worship. Enjoy adoring God today with the spiritual gift He has given you.

*For further study, below is a list of some of the spiritual tools of worship used by various women in Scripture:

Service: Luke 4:38,39

Proclamation: Luke 2:36-38

Instruction: Acts 18:24-28

Encouragement: John 4:28-30

Giving: Luke 21:2-4

Administration: Judges 4:4-14

Mercy: Acts 9:36-42

Wisdom: Luke 1:46-56

Knowledge: I Samuel 2:1-10

Faith: Matthew 15:21-28

Discernment: I Samuel 25:2-42

Evangelism: Acts 21:9

Hospitality: John 12:1,2

*This list is paraphrased from The Woman’s Study Bible, Nelson Publishing, page 1916. II Corinthians 12 also is a good reference for spiritual gifts.